FORMER chairman of CCM in Kagera Region Pius Ngeze has expressed fear that Bukoba municipality may be swallowed by water following swelling up of Lake Victoria and called for immediate measures to address the situation.

Ngeze, who is an author, farmer and businessman made the call at the weekend here during a meeting he convened for regional and district government leaders, CCM leaders and journalists.

He reminded the impact brought by floods in Bukoba on May 10 this year, destroying homes and public infrastructure.

He has said that as a resident of Bukoba since 1977, there are many things he knows about the municipality.

He said that something is ‘brewing’ in Lake Victoria and if the government does not take action to come up with a policy to advise on the planning of buildings in Bukoba, there could be a big disaster.

He mentioned the disasters that have hit Bukoba as the flooding of Lake Victoria in July 2016 surprisingly during the summer and floods that destroyed several large buildings including hotels.

In September of the same year, there was an earthquake that caused big damage, knocking down houses in the municipality and its environs.

In 2023, there was a strong cyclone from Lake Victoria that destroyed houses in some streets and the elderly here say they had never seen such an event in Bukoba.

Ngeze further said that the floods of May 10 this year shocked him because if it had happened during night it would have caused bigger harm to the residents.

He criticized some people’s habit of continuing to build on streams and waterways, something which endanger sustainability of the town and asked municipal authorities to take action.

The former leaders also appealed to the government to establish Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) office in Bukoba as well as provide a building policy that supports the real conditions of the municipality.